The United Kingdom and Greece could be ‘close’ to reaching an agreement regarding the temporary return of the Parthenon Marbles to their country of origin, reports the BBC. The report comes after a meeting at Downing Street between UK prime minister Keir Starmer with Greece prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on 3 December. Despite no official statement from either party regarding a potential loan, a former advisor to the Greece’s government professor Irene Stamatoudi said that it ‘seems negotiations have gone forward’ regarding the return of the friezes, which have been on display in the British Museum since the early 19th century . Starmer had previously stated that ‘it remains a matter for the British Museum and the government has no plans to change the law that would permit a permanent move of the Parthenon sculptures’. The Guardian reports that talks between the British Musuem and the Greek government regarding a loan arrangement are ‘well advanced’.
The Vancouver Art Gallery has announced that it is scrapping plans for a new building designed by Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron, reports the Art Newspaper. The firm won the architectural competition for the project in 2014, but the path to realising the design has been rocky, with constant delays and concerns about rising costs. In August, the museum’s director, Anthony Kiendl, announced that costs were predicted to reach more than CAD $600m, more than double the original estimate; 60 million Canadian dollars has already been spent on pre-construction fees. In a statement issued this week, Kiendl said, ‘It has become clear that we require a new way forward to meet both our artistic mission and vision and our practical needs’. A new firm for the project is likely to be chosen in the coming months.
Jasleen Kaur has won the 2024 Turner Prize. The London-based artist was nominated for her exhibition ‘Alter Altar’, which took place at Tramway in Glasgow in 2023. Featuring sculptural and sound-based works that celebrated the Scottish Sikh community, it included half-empty bottles of Irn-Bru, family photographs and a Ford Escort topped with a giant doily. Kaur studied jewellery and silversmith at Glasgow School of Art in 2008, before further studies at the Royal College of Art in London. At 38, she is the youngest of this year’s shortlisted artists, who include Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson and Delaine Le Bas, and takes home a sum of £25,000. The works of the four shortlisted artists are on display at Tate Britain until 16 February 2025.
The UK’s deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has approved the demolition of Marks & Spencer’s flagship store on Oxford Street in London, reports the BBC. The future of the art deco building has hung in the balance for the last three years. Although the retailer’s plans to redevelop the site were approved by Westminster City Council in 2021, they have consistently blocked by other governmental bodies, preventing the project from moving ahead. The decision has prompted outcry from heritage and sustainability campaigners such as Save British Heritage, who said that national policy must be reformed to promote refurbishment over demolition.
The US Senate has passed a bill that could see the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia join the Smithsonian Institution, reports Artnews. Under the new bill, which now required presidential assent, an eight-member committee would be appointed by the House of Representatives and Senate to assess the permanent transfer of the museum to the institution, which would become the Smithsonian’s first museum dedicated to the stories of Jewish Americans.
Lead image: used under a Creative Commons licence [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0].